Purchase orders

A purchase order (PO) is a formal order from you to a vendor for stock. Hilal’s PO module tracks the whole lifecycle — drafted, sent, confirmed by the vendor, shipped, received, and closed — and ties received stock back into your warehouse counts.

In this guide:

• Create a PO
• Send it to your vendor
• Track status updates
• Receive stock against a PO
• Close and reconcile

Prerequisites

• At least one vendor configured. See Vendor management.
• At least one warehouse to receive into.
• purchasing.create permission.

Step 1: Create a PO

Go to Inventory → Purchase Orders and click New PO.

Fill in:

• Vendor — picked from your vendor list.
• Receiving warehouse — where stock will land.
• Expected ship date / Expected delivery date — used by forecasting and dashboard rollups.
• Lines — SKU + quantity + unit cost. The unit cost defaults to the SKU’s standard cost; override per line if pricing differs.
• Currency — defaults to the vendor’s currency.
• Notes — appears on the PDF sent to the vendor.

Hilal calculates totals (subtotal, tax if applicable, shipping, grand total).

Step 2: Send it to your vendor

Click Send to vendor. Hilal generates a PDF and (optionally) emails it to the vendor’s contact email. Status flips to Sent.

If you prefer to handle vendor comms outside Hilal, click Mark as sent instead — it just flips the status without emailing.

Step 3: Track status updates

A PO moves through these states:

Update status manually or — if you’re using the vendor portal feature — let the vendor update directly.

Step 4: Receive stock against a PO

When stock arrives at your warehouse, click the PO → Receive stock. Enter actual quantities per line.

Hilal:

• Adds the received quantities to the destination warehouse.
• Logs lead time (days from PO sent to PO received) on the vendor.
• Updates PO status (Receiving if partial, Received if all lines complete).

Step 5: Close and reconcile

Once everything is received, click Close PO. Hilal:

• Locks the PO (no more edits).
• Posts the final cost to the SKUs you received (used for COGS).
• Updates the vendor’s measured lead time.

If there were shortages or damaged goods, the Reconcile option lets you write off the difference or open a vendor dispute.

Troubleshooting

• PDF email didn’t reach the vendor. Check spam, then resend from the PO detail page. If the vendor’s domain blocks Hilal, mark as sent and email the PDF manually.
• Stock didn’t update after receiving. Make sure the Receive-stock step was completed (status moved to Receiving or Received), not just status flipped manually.
• Vendor’s lead time chart is empty. Lead times only populate from POs that went all the way to Received. Drafts and cancelled POs don’t count.

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